


veni, vidi, vici

by klefaeries



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Character Study, Gen, angst???? maybe, humanity kinda sucks lmao, musing about death, rome gets overly dramatic and philosophical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 19:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klefaeries/pseuds/klefaeries
Summary: It's easy for Romulus to lose himself in the passage of time.





	veni, vidi, vici

Humanity always keeps on moving forward no matter what the circumstances are. Romulus envies and despises them at the same time.

He doesn't actually remember how he was born. The older a nation is, the more difficult it is to pinpoint the exact moment they became sentient. Perhaps Aeneas was the one who molded Romulus with his bare hands and breathed life into him like a some ancient god. Or maybe it was the twins Romulus and Remus, the former of which he took his human name from--maybe he rose from the stones that were still red with the blood of Remus as a pack of wolves howled somewhere deep from within the forests.

Whatever the case is, Romulus does not know and he will never know. He had hoped that death would have given him an insight into such a thing, but no such luck.

He remembers _being_ Rome, however, even if he cannot remember becoming Rome. He remembers the constant warfare. He remembers the bite of steel and the death cries of soldiers as he joined his human rulers in battle. He remembers cradling his grandsons in his tired arms and vowing to protect them and help them to grow into strong and capable nations of their own, even if he can't remember how they came to be.

Maybe it was death that took the memories from him, as one final slap in the face?

Although, death for a nation isn't at all what it is like for a mortal human. There are gaps in time when Romulus cannot be seen; when the collective mindset of humanity doesn't give a damn about the ancient empire of Rome, and he spends those minutes, hours, days, months, years, centuries, _moments_ wandering through the streets of Rome and watching as people go about their lives day and night without a care in the world. And then there are periods of existence when the people do care, and instead of a phantom he is once again flesh and blood, though no one knows that is he as ancient as the streets they walk on. Those are, of course, his favorite drops in the sea of time. For all his frustrations with humanity--watching them destroy one another over the most inane and frivolous of things that can be solved with words rather than blood, as is the inevitable cycle that never fails to repeat itself--Romulus loves them.

He loves them so much that he falls in love with them far too easily, and it is the one thing he has never been able to stop.

The beautiful girls who hide their broken wings and shattered dreams behind porcelain and painted smiles.

The men too proud, too terrified to admit what is truly in their hearts and protect it all with bitter words and bared teeth.

The ones in between, neither here nor there, who are ghosts just like himself and don't even know who they are or who they should be.

Romulus loves them all deeply, and sometimes he thinks it's the only reason he hasn't completely disappeared. Rushed, mischievous kisses shared in back alleys; whispered words of comfort and drying tears that waited far too long to fall; quiet evenings running his fingers through their hair and holding them as close to his dead heart as he can. It is those moments that keeps Romulus existing. It is the desire to continue to watch over humanity, despite their shortcomings--despite how they bicker and lash out at one another and destroy everything that they hold dear and precious. 

Because they always come back from it, and Romulus is always there to witness it.

**Author's Note:**

> hahahaha hey so uh. it's been a hot minute since i've written anything that wasn't uh....just straight up self insert bullshit for my own private amusement or sad poetry. probably over 4 years??? idk. time is weird. aph was something i used to be super into and now it's more like a dusty relic i still love to pass by and clean up every now and then--rome is my ultimate fave next to prussia, and it was time i did something like this. honestly he's super complex imo because hello???? ancient empire??? there's some baggage there my dudes. so writing this short rambling bullshit kinda gives me some weird closure about his character i suppose. yep. anyway wow i can't believe i actually wrote something and posted it, time to wait for another 4 years /fingerguns/


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